Chapter 2: Heroes Gather in Full Force

The other two slips were placed on that bizarre copper statue with protruding eyes; one bore the inscription "Master Shi" and the other "Si Qin".

Ding Jun knew that Si Qin was the name of Shi Hai's wife. Inside Shi Hai's wallet was a photograph of Si Qin, a country woman with honest features and a gentle face.

"Uncle Shi, I am staying. You can chase me away, but I will not leave," Ding Jun said.

He did not like to express himself with excessive words. Once he made up his decision, he would carry it out with his feet firmly on the ground, never changing it lightly.

"Xiao Ding, I have already invited many helpers. You really don't need to get involved. You were Xiao Hai's best brother, and now that he is dead, I cannot drag you into this. Rest assured, the matters here will definitely be resolved smoothly, and I will invite you back then—"

At this point, Shi Master stopped, because these words could not persuade anyone. Up until now, everyone who had received the "Guge Silver Eye Death Warrant" had ended up in a grave. Not a single person dared to claim they could "resolve" it, nor had anyone ever "resolved" such a crisis, save for death.

"Uncle Shi, my mind is made up," Ding Jun said firmly, as if every word were an iron nail being heavily hammered into the old wooden table before him. "I took an oath. Shi Hai's matters are my matters. Unless I die, this oath will stand."

For a fleeting second, the young girl's gaze towards Ding Jun was filled with reverence and gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Ding. I am thanking you on behalf of Si Qin and the child in her womb..."

Master Shi finally abandoned his stubbornness and waved his hand. "Very well, Xiao Ding. Thank you."

Ding Jun nodded in acknowledgment.

"Miss Fang Qing, please help me look after our guest, will you?" Master Shi said.

The young girl smiled at Ding Jun. "Mr. Ding, would you please accompany me to the next room? There is a sofa prepared there, which is much more comfortable."

Ding Jun stood up. "Uncle Shi, please accept my condolences."

Master Shi suddenly gave a bitter smile. "Actually, we... Xiao Hai and I anticipated this day long ago. Thank you, Xiao Ding. Go and rest."

The young girl led Ding Jun out, walking toward another doorway on the left.

"I am Fang Qing. Please guide me, Mr. Ding," she said midway, smiling as she extended her hand toward him. She had just quietly wiped away the lingering tears at the corners of her eyes.

"I am Ding Jun," Ding Jun replied politely, shaking her hand.

Fang Qing's eyes were exceptionally expressive, her pupils dark and bright like two black grapes soaked in ice water. Her eyelashes were thick and long, with the tips slightly upturned like deeply lowered curtains.

Ding Jun could deduce that a young woman with such eyes must be clever, resourceful, and extraordinarily quick-witted.

Furthermore, when Fang Qing walked, her footsteps were extremely light—the characteristic gait of someone who had practiced traditional lightness kung fu for a long time. Only the front half of the soles touched the ground, relying entirely on the rebound force of the joint ligaments to move forward, while maintaining absolute, one-hundred-percent balance from the knees up.

The cuffs and both sides of the waist of the black leather trench coat Fang Qing wore bulged slightly. It was obvious that micro-weapons were concealed underneath, most likely ultra-miniature short-range pistols.

As dusk fell on the autumn day in Tibet, the temperature plummeted sharply. Yet Fang Qing wore only a thin trench coat, leather pants, and leather boots without the slightest hint of feeling the cold, which showed that her inner energy cultivation had a solid foundation.

"What is Mr. Ding thinking about?" Fang Qing asked, highly alert. Her large eyes seemed to speak; with just a flash, she appeared to have seen right through Ding Jun's thoughts.

"Nothing. I just feel rather apologetic for troubling Miss Fang to look after me," Ding Jun replied.

Fang Qing smiled. "Mr. Ding is a man who has seen the grand scenes on the battlefield in Afghanistan. It is my honor to make your acquaintance."

A slight chill ran through the depths of Ding Jun's heart, and he suddenly realized that although they were meeting for the first time, the other party was already thoroughly familiar with all his background details. Of course, that period of time serving in the US Delta Force was nothing to hide; the bloody and cruel wars had left deep scars on his body, which any experienced martial artist could sense.

"Mr. Ding, please don't overthink it. Uncle Shi told me all these things. He said you could be called the king of special forces on the Afghan battlefield, with extremely high tactical proficiency—a one-man army capable of defeating a hundred. Young girls all have a hero-worship complex, which is why I am so curious about you. Rest assured, I harbor no malice whatsoever, nor would I dare to have any," Fang Qing confessed frankly.

Ding Jun smiled faintly. "That is all in the past. Now I am just a very ordinary citizen of Hong Kong."

Fang Qing smiled again. "Mr. Ding is too modest—"

She stepped forward and pushed open the old-fashioned wooden door.

The moment the door opened, a thick cloud of Cuban cigar smoke billowed out, choking both of them and causing their expressions to change simultaneously.

Ding Jun took a step back, keenly noticing that Fang Qing gave her slender waist a twist, sliding and spinning backward in an extremely graceful posture. She had long, smooth, black hair tied into a ponytail hanging down her back. As she spun, the ends of her hair fluttered like drifting clouds, resembling a waterfall plunging down a cliff—an extraordinarily captivating sight.

Set into her earlobes were two platinum diamond studs, sparkling pleasingly in the gathering dusk.

In Hong Kong, Ding Jun had seen plenty of heavily made-up, extravagant, and flashy young women, but a pure beauty with bright eyes, white teeth, and a slender waist like Fang Qing was something he had never encountered in his life.

"Old Shi keeps saying we have to wait, wait for whom? With the few brothers of us here, are we still unable to deal with the enemy? I've said it long ago, many people in the martial arts world are just chasing after fame without any real skills, knowing only how to put on a show and swindle people. I've seen too many of these empty-handed swindlers, truly—"

Someone was holding forth eloquently. As the door opened, the four people inside the room turned their faces all at once, eight eyes staring at Ding Jun with various implications.

"Greetings, Master Zhu, Uncle Li, Elder Qin, and Mother Ge. This is Mr. Ding from Hong Kong, a friend of Uncle Shi. Everyone, please get acquainted," Fang Qing introduced from the doorway.

She only invited Ding Jun inside after more than half of the smoke in the room had drifted away.

Sofas were placed against the four walls of the room, but each of the four people occupied one side entirely, and none of them stood up to offer a seat.

"Greetings, senior elders," Ding Jun nodded to the four of them in greeting.

The person who had been speaking halfway through his sentence just now was a big man with a full beard—the Master Zhu whom Fang Qing had introduced.

Uncle Li was a clean-shaven, plump man, Elder Qin was a gloomy-looking thin man, and Mother Ge was a woman with upturned slanted eyes, thin lips, and a slender frame.

Master Zhu waved his hand casually. "From Hong Kong? Sit down."

Ding Jun sat down on the sofa near the door, saying, "Thank you."

Fang Qing leaned over and asked, "Milk tea or coffee?"

Ding Jun replied in a low voice, "Coffee will do. Sorry to trouble you."

"I said it before: when soldiers come, block them; when water comes, earth dams it. What is there to fear? What use is fear? If you lose your head, it's just a scar the size of a bowl, and eighteen years later you'll be a fine fellow again. Tell me, isn't that right?" Master Zhu continued to expound loudly, spittle flying.

The other three burst into loud laughter together, taking it as a response to Master Zhu.

Uncle Li said with a grin, "Indeed, indeed. Old Shi has been a doctor for too long, always keeping that routine of benevolence and saving lives on his lips, and his temperament seems to have changed as well. You kill me, I kill you; you hack me, I hack you—what use is running your mouth? Look, now they've come looking for us, first killing his son to cut off his lineage, and then exterminating his entire family. You retreat, and they advance, until they force you into a dead end and wipe you all out..."

Elder Qin also nodded. "Damn it all, I've had a thirty-year friendship with Old Shi. If anyone wants to kill Old Shi, they'll have to get past me first."

The two of them laughed heartily facing each other, when Mother Ge suddenly spoke in a gloomy voice: "I only want the treasure."

Those five words startled Master Zhu, Uncle Li, and Elder Qin. They looked at each other in dismay, and then stared fixedly at Ding Jun.

Ding Jun's expression remained calm, neither welcoming nor rejecting. With a turn of his gaze, he looked at Fang Qing, who was walking back carrying the coffee.

"Coffee, please," Fang Qing said, handing a milky-white, gold-rimmed coffee cup to Ding Jun. The brown coffee in the cup exuded a rich aroma that completely masked all the smoke in the room.

The three people were stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into loud laughter: "Good, good, good! The treasure, the treasure..."

Ding Jun had no desire to interject on any topic. In his heart, he held too many doubts and regrets regarding the death of his comrades-in-arms, Shi Hai. He wanted to have a detailed talk with Master Shi, but the crucial matter right now was to deal with the issue of the "Guge Silver Eye Death Warrant."

"I only want the treasure. No matter how many people meddle in this matter, I am going to take my share," Mother Ge said again.

Master Zhu continued smoking. The glowing tip of his thick cigar flickered for a while, and the air in the room grew foul once more.

"Hey, Old Zhu, would you die if you didn't smoke?" Mother Ge called out abruptly.

Master Zhu stood up instantly, saying angrily, "Fine, fine, I'll go outside to smoke, alright? I'm scared of you—is it alright that I'm scared of you?"

He stood up and walked out, followed by Uncle Li and Elder Qin. After a moment, Mother Ge also slowly got up and walked out step by step.

The door remained open, and the smoke slowly dissipated.

Fang Qing said in a low voice, "Mr. Ding, they are all eccentric people whose words and actions are abrupt and strange. Please don't laugh at them. Actually, they are all here to lend Uncle Shi a helping hand. As you should know, Uncle Shi originally lived in Zhada County town and was forced to move here to Toling Monastery."

Ding Jun nodded. "I understand."

During their phone call, the meeting place he and Master Shi had agreed upon was Zhada County town. As a renowned medical family in Tibet, Master Shi ran the largest private clinic in the county. Obviously, the conditions there were superior to those within Toling Monastery. His hasty relocation here must have been due to reasons that left him no alternative.

He remembered that before joining the US Delta Force, everyone had to firmly memorize this sentence: "Never leave a fallen comrade behind."

In the battle of the Bamiyan Valley in Kabul, Afghanistan, Shi Hai had stayed behind alone to cover the rear, leaving the final chance of escape to him. This was the most painful memory in his life, pressing down on him like a massive mountain day and night, leaving him no peace. He had always felt that he had violated the Delta Force's most important commandment and was no longer worthy of being a true soldier.

"That's for the best," Fang Qing said.

Dusk passed, and evening closed in. The chanting of scriptures from the temple ahead faded away, leaving only the wind, now fierce and now gentle, in the air.

"As far as I know, there is still one very important person coming," Fang Qing spoke again.

Ding Jun did not ask further, merely listening in silence.

Fang Qing continued, speaking almost to herself: "In the regions of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, many people have only heard the name of the He family of the Five Poisons Cult without ever seeing them. This time, Uncle Shi sent out martial arts invitations, and the people of the He family responded that they would send someone over immediately—and it will be the top expert of the family. Don't look at how fiercely Master Zhu and the others are shouting; the moment the He family's people arrive, those four will immediately quiet down."

Ding Jun smiled, letting Fang Qing continue.

"Mr. Ding, aren't you interested in these things?" Fang Qing finally could not sit still, turning her face to look at Ding Jun with her large, gemstone-bright eyes.

Ding Jun thought for a moment and replied in a low voice, "Whatever you want to say, you will surely finish saying. Whatever you don't want to say, no matter how much I ask, you won't tell."

Fang Qing smiled silently until she bent over, pointing her right index finger at Ding Jun.

When she had laughed enough, Ding Jun added, "Miss Fang, everyone fears the Five Poisons Cult. If a matter is serious enough to necessitate inviting members of the He family to take action, it must be extremely dangerous and difficult, and it is bound to be related to gu sorcery, sorcery of descent, or curses."

Fang Qing looked up, her long, dense, dark eyelashes fluttering. "Are you afraid? Are you scared?"

Ding Jun replied softly, "I am afraid, but I will not leave."

Fang Qing clapped her hands. "Good, I like that answer."

Ding Jun took a deep breath, turned around, gazed out at the boundless night beyond the door, and said word by word, "Now, I consider myself a member of the Shi family. We live together, and we die together."